Carabella Avenue
by Paloma Latina
Summary: Jasmine Potter is the most recognised Squib in the world. Her brother is James Potter and her father is a famous Auror. She leads a normal, Muggle life. When somebody moves into Number 12, everything's different. Lane Chelsea is going to change her world.
1. The Moving Van

_SharkiesGirl and Cuba, this is a rewrite of what you've already read. Hopefully, this'll be better. :)_

* * *

**Britain, 1973**

If you happened to be staring down a certain street on a certain day at a certain time, you would have seen a little girl playing all by herself. She had long, brown hair and deep brown eyes. She wasn't much of a show-off, but she didn't shut up very often. The girl was well-mannered and very polite. She loved playing around her street by herself – she had nobody else to play with, so it wasn't much of a worry for her.

Jasmine Potter was riding up and down her road – Carabella Avenue – on her new bike when the new family moved into number 12. Her bike was the latest style. It was sparkly pink with shiny tassels on the handle bars and smooth, round training wheels. She had received it for her eighth birthday. Her parents and her brother, James, had bought it for her. She had only opened it the night before, so this was her first time riding it.

As she passed the Corelli residence, she flicked her long brown hair over her shoulder. The Corelli family were rich like her. Mr and Mrs Corelli's children had moved out of home when Jasmine was four. Jasmine didn't mind much - they had never talked very often. The Corelli couple had a small house that was richly decorated with little garden gnomes and fine detail on the fence. Jasmine had never been inside, but she talked to Mrs Corelli whenever she was in the front yard, doing gardening.

She was there that morning. "Good morning, Jasmine." Mrs Corelli had brown hair that was rapidly greying. She wasn't the prying type, but she liked a good gossip. She normally visited Mrs Potter of a Tuesday afternoon and they had tea. Occasionally, they would swap houses and days, but not very often.

"Hello, Mrs Corelli."

Jasmine slammed her feet down onto the concrete to slow the bike down. She flicked her hair back out of her face again and waved at the lady kneeling in the dirt. Mrs Corelli had her overalls on and dirt on her nose. Her spade, rake, shovel and garden clippers were strewn all over the grass.

"How is your mother, Jasmine? Is she going to be okay?"

Jasmine nodded. "Dr O'Malley said she'll get better when she has enough rest."

"Okay, darlin'. Take care now, won't you?"

"Yes, Mrs Corelli."

Jasmine and the old lady shared a smile before Jasmine kicked off the ground again, cycling down the road. The next house she passed was owned by Mrs Number 8. Mrs Number 8 (formally known as Mrs Boambee) was highly snobby. She spent her time peeking out of her windows and scribbling in a note book whenever she was outside. Jasmine had only ever spoken to Mrs Number 8 once, and she wasn't too keen to share a word with the woman again. As she passed, the curtains swayed and a pointy nose peaked through.

Jasmine continued down the road to Number 10. The Richmond family lived here. They were all tall and had dark hair. Mr and Mrs were always at work and the two children, Ashley and Hannah, were not fun to be around. It was all talk, talk, talk with them and Jasmine, who quite liked talking herself, could never get a word in edge-wise. Jasmine did her best to ignore them at all costs. The only problem with that was that her mother, Mrs Potter, thought Jasmine had social problems and always organised to have them over.

Jasmine came to a halt once she reached Number 12 – the house at the dead end. Number 12 was a very significant amount smaller than all the other houses on Carabella Avenue. It was a brick, one-story house with large windows and an equally large veranda. Out the back were a vast paddock and a stable. Nobody had lived in Number 12 since James was born, thirteen years ago.

"Just put that in the lounge."

Jasmine peered around the side of a moving van to see a young lady pointing to a large box. She was petite, blonde and her stomach appeared to be very large compared to the ones Jasmine was used to. Standing beside her was a young man nodding, preparing to pick the box up. He was a head taller than her and had dark hair like Mr Richmond. Jasmine watched as the man picked the box up and started walking towards the front door.

"Mummy!" a young voice called. "Look what I found."

Jasmine noticed with a start that there was a boy about her age playing near the front gate. He was a fraction taller than her and was covered in dirt. He had hair that was a mix between his mother's and his father's. Jasmine couldn't see his face very well because his fringe was covering his eyes and mud was smeared across his face.

The mother looked down at the boy and let out a shriek of surprise. "What is that, Lane?"

Jasmine couldn't see the boy's facial expression, but she suspected he was grinning. "It's a snail."

The woman grimaced and tilted her head to one side. "Put that down, Lane," she asked kindly. "Daddy needs help unpacking. Run along and clean up. You know I can't help with the baby on the way."

The boy nodded and walked over to the gate. He stopped for a moment and Jasmine stared. Before she could figure out what he was doing, however, he had run off towards the house and disappeared. The woman didn't move for a few moments. Jasmine watched her touch something on the gate before following the boy inside.

Jasmine quietly pushed her bike up to the gate. It was wooden and broken around the edges. Sitting on the side of one of the spikes was a snail. It was brown with a bluish swirl on the shell. Jasmine stared in astonishment. It wasn't quite like any of the other snails she had ever seen before.

"Jazzy? Where are you sweetie?"

Jasmine rode along to the next house at the sound of her mother's voice. Number 13 was by far the largest in the street. It took up the same amount of space as Numbers 6, 8 and 10 put together. Technically, houses 7, 9 and 11 didn't exist, all because of the size of the Potter mansion. It was four stories high with a cute little attic making story five. Surrounding the house were tall trees and bushes. The front yard was neatly kept with a fountain and a path.

"Jazzy! Come quick! I need you to help me choose the fabric for my new dress."

Grace Potter wasn't like most mothers. Grace was a witch and a very good one at that. She had long brown hair and shiny blue eyes. Grace was a housewife, occasionally dropping into the Ministry of Magic to help her husband organise special events – the latest of which involved Grace needing a new dress.

Jasmine's Daddy was Tim Potter. He was strong, handsome and very popular. He was a top Auror who spent most of his time fighting evil people. James Potter was her brother and he was in his third year at Hogwarts. He was just like his Dad, maybe even more popular still. He had messy black hair that would not be tamed and a tendency to get into a lot of trouble.

Jasmine always wanted to be like them. But, as if the world wasn't cruel enough to her already, she was a Squib. Probably the most famous one around - daughter of the famous Auror and the lovable housewife, sister to Hogwarts' popular trouble maker. She didn't mind _not_ being magic. She got to spend a lot more time with the family than James did and she received the same amount of attention from the rellies.

Jasmine jumped off her bike and left it sitting on the lawn. She thundered up the stairs to the front door and ran past her mother to the sowing room. There, they spent the rest of the morning making a dress for Grace.

* * *

Jasmine fell asleep on the couch after dinner. The lounge room the Potters mainly used was on the second floor. It was a large room filled with long, beige couches and delicate ornaments. There was a large television spread across one of the walls and antique lamps on stunningly decorated tables. The cushions were all a rich red colour and the carpet and walls were cream coloured. Jasmine liked this room. It was very comfortable.

"James?" his mother called from the couch.

"Yes, Mum?' he called back.

"Would you please put your sister to bed? I can't lift her. I'm still sick."

James appeared in the doorway. He looked across the room to his sister and nodded. He quietly walked over to the lounge and picked her up. She stirred but didn't open her eyes. On the way out of the room, James kissed his mother on the cheek and whispered goodnight.

"'Night, James," Grace whispered back.

James carried his sister up two flights of stairs to the fourth floor and down the corridor to her room. The sheets on her bed were already pulled back and she was already in her nightie. He carefully placed her back into her bed and pulled the sheets up to her chin.

"Goodnight, Jazzy," he said from the door.

She sleepily flipped over and murmured something incomprehensible. James closed the door behind him and went back to his own room. He was almost in bed when he remembered Jasmine's night light. He tip-toed back into Jasmine's room and flicked the switch on to the little light by her bed. The walls were soon bathed in a faint pink light. He smiled and walked back out. Sometimes, being a big brother had its perks.

* * *

Jasmine woke up early the next morning. Today was the start of her last week of kindergarten. She smiled as she sat up. She had been waiting all spring to finally finish - she couldn't wait for year one. Jasmine flipped her legs over the side of her bed and stood up. Jasmine's room was altered to look just how she wanted. It had light purple walls, a deep brown desk, a lamp with a fairy themed shade, flower pots on the window sill and a large window that she could climb out and over to a tree from. It was sure to come in handy one day.

"Whee!" she exclaimed quietly to herself. It was what she could always be found muttering under her breath when something went her way.

Jasmine got up and dressed into her school uniform as quickly as possible. She had had a bath the night before and was surprised to find she still smelt like the strawberry bubble bath she had poured so much of into the water. Jasmine attended Carabella Cove Public School, just a few streets away. The uniform, for girls, was a neatly pleated green and black skirt, a plain white shirt with the school emblem on the breast pocket, plain black school shoes and, if the weather permitted, a black woollen jumper with an emblem. It was one of the nicest uniforms this side of London, but it still only suited a very few amount of students.

* * *

"Good morning, Jazzy!" her father said as she walked into the kitchen.

"'Morning, Daddy!" she greeted, giving her father a hug.

She sat down at the table and looked around. Lucky, the main house elf, was standing at the stove, cooking something that smelt great. Lucky was in charge of most of the house. She had big grey eyes and wore a fancy little toga-like pink dress. The other house elves were Lofty, Hugo and Gumbo. Gumbo was Jasmine's favourite. There was a house elf for each member of the family and Gumbo was Jasmine's. He was always around as she grew up and she believed he'd be around forever.

"What's for breakfast, Lucky?" Jasmine asked kindly, resting on the bar stool, her legs curled up under her.

"Your favourite, bacon and eggs, Miss. How much would you like, Miss?"

Jasmine screwed her face up in thought. "The normal, Lucky. One egg and three pieces of bacon, please."

"Yes, Miss Jasmine. Right away, Miss."

Within seconds, the tiny creature had served Jasmine up her breakfast and was already inquiring into what Mr Potter wanted to eat. Jasmine ate slowly, staring out the kitchen window into the paddock that backed off Number 12. There was a large forest behind it that had a car track through it. A lot of the time, some of the teenagers from the local high school would drag race through it, cutting across the paddock and up Carabella Avenue.

"Are you finished, Miss?" Lucky squeaked, bringing Jasmine out of her daze.

"Yes, thank you."

Lucky levitated the plate to the sink and helped Jasmine off her stool. "Anything else I can get you, Miss?"

Jasmine nodded. "Can you see if James and Mummy are awake yet? They are going to take me to school today, they promised."

Lucky nodded and disappeared with a pop. Jasmine walked into the hall and saw her bag sitting near the door. Gumbo had already packed it for her. She smiled and walked up the stairs, heading towards the bathroom to brush her teeth. In the corridor, she ran into James, who was already dressed.

"Jazzy!" he exclaimed, lifting her up and spinning her around. As he put her back onto the ground, he asked, "Are you ready for school?"

Jasmine nodded. "You are gonna come to school today, aren't you, Jamie?"

He looked really upset. "I'm sorry, Jazzy, b-!"

Jasmine grabbed his hand and tugged on it. "But, Jamie, _you promised_!"

"I know, Jazz-"

"YOU PROMISED!"

"Jasmine Kate Potter!" Jasmine turned at the sound of her father's voice. He was looking angry like she had never seen him for a long time. "Please be quiet! Your mother is sick and she needs quiet!"

Jasmine let go of James and looked at the ground, fuming. Her father walked away, back down the hall to his and Grace's room. James went to say something but Jasmine silenced him with a glare.

"You promised!" she hissed, putting her hands on her hips and leaning towards him slightly.

He sighed and ran a hand through his already messy hair. "I have to look after Mum while Dad's at work. I can't come. Gumbo will have to go with you, under Dad's invisibility cloak."

Jasmine folded her arms and stormed into the bathroom. She had been waiting forever to introduce her brother to her friends and to show him all the best hiding spots for hide-and-go-seek. She was incredibly upset. She brushed her teeth with a scowl on her face, spraying toothpaste all over the mirror in anger. Once she had finished, she stormed back out and slammed the door behind her. She could faintly hear her Dad sigh as she ran down the stairs, making as much noise as she could.

"What is wrong, Miss?" a familiar voice asked.

Jasmine turned on the spot to see Gumbo in the foyer, holding her bag with a silvery cloak under one arm. He was the smallest of all the house elves working at the Potter mansion. He had shiny yellow eyes, tanned skin and wore a neat blue tunic. She smiled at him and wiped a tear away from her eyes.

"It doesn't matter anymore, Gummy. Let's get to school."

The little house elf nodded and slid the cloak over his tiny body. Jasmine picked up her bag and threw it over her back. It was bright pink with little butterflies on it. She opened the front door and steeped out into the sunshine. It was a marvellous spring day. All the birds were outside and everything shone with life. Jasmine slowly walked down the front steps.

"Gummy?" she whispered, trying to get an idea of where he was.

"Right here, Miss. I'll stay with you, Miss. Don't you worry."

Jasmine nodded and started walking down the garden path to the footpath next to the road. As she went, she shot a glance over to Number 12. The moving truck was gone and a clean blue car was sitting in the driveway. She stepped onto the footpath and turned towards the start of the street.

"I'm still here, Miss."

Jasmine smiled and plodded on. Carabella Cove Primary was exactly three blocks away. It was really quite a short trip, but normally her mother would walk with her. It felt weird to be by herself – Almost. She turned the corner and walked along Jacaranda Place. Jacaranda trees lined the street, making it look like a place fairies would live. The houses here weren't as big, but they were much older and Victorian looking.

"Hey! Hey, wait up!"

The hairs on the back of Jasmine's neck prickled at the sound of the unfamiliar voice. She continued walking, not looking back. Footsteps soon grew louder and she realised the person was running.

"Would you like me to freeze them, Miss?" Gumbo asked quietly as the person fell into step next to her.

She discreetly shook her head and turned to face the person next to her. It was the boy who had just moved into Number 12. Now she could properly see his face, she was surprised to see that he looked nothing like she had ever thought. He had golden brown eyes and a symmetrical face. His eyelashes were dark and long, framing his eyes. He looked friendly enough, so she didn't run away.

"Hello," he said. "I saw you walking down the street and noticed you were wearing the same uniform as me."

Jasmine nodded. "Do you go to Carabella Cove Primary too?"

He smiled. Jasmine stared. She had never met a boy whose whole face lit up when he smiled, or whose teeth were so straight and white. "I do now. Today is my first day. Mum was supposed to come with me, but she has a baby in her tummy, so she can't walk much." He smiled again. "Hi! My name is Lane!"

Jasmine didn't say anything. She was still in shock. He certainly liked to talk. He soon realised she wasn't going to say anything so he dropped back a bit and let her lead the way. Jasmine noticed this and looked at him again.

"You just moved into Number 12, didn't you?"

He nodded. Lane slowly adjusted his backpack and walked on. Jasmine watched him walk out of the corner of her eye. He had an air of pride about him and he seemed to strut slightly, although there was no arrogance or power about it. He stepped gently as if she ground would cave in if he angered it. She found it unusual that a boy their age would look so grown up. She stared at him for a little longer as they turned down the next street. The school slowly started appearing and Jasmine was disappointed that she hadn't made better use of the time with him.

"My name is Jasmine, by the way," she said quietly. She slowly felt a blush creep over her cheeks as he smiled again. "Jasmine Potter."

"I'm Lane Chelsea. I just moved here from East London."

"Oh," she commented very quietly.

She looked up from the rocky ground as her blush vanished. They had reached the school yard.

* * *

**A/N:**

Okay, so this story was inspired by a rainy day three years ago (I've been putting it off since then) and was recently given a push along one day in English – we had to do a creative writing piece in pairs. Although, my story involved a vampire bride who can surf pitchforks and is in love with a Jedi knight who is afraid of the dark.

Well, this story might possibly sound quite familiar to you, but please understand that I thought of this a long time ago, before I was a good reader. I bet there are a thousand plot lines that have already been used, all in this story alone. But what story isn't like another? We would have run out of ideas yonks ago.

Well, I'm rambling, so I'll cut this short:

**I don't own Harry Potter or the Harry Potter universe, but, I do own the plot, the characters you don't recognise and most of the things you've never heard of.**


	2. A New Friend

She looked up from the rocky ground as her blush vanished. They had reached the school yard.

Jasmine heard the familiar '_pop_' of Gumbo vanishing with the invisibility cloak. She continued walking as though nothing had happened and tried to ignore the twist in her tummy as Lane looked around bewildered.

"Did ya hear that?" he asked quickly, still flipping his head around searching for the source of the sound.

"Nope," Jasmine said, making sure she didn't look him in the eyes.

Lane gave her a suspicious look but kept his mouth lightly shut. The pair walked into the school gates and Lane fell a step behind again, not knowing his way around the school grounds. Jasmine remembered they were at school early and that all the students had to wait until a bell rang before they could wander around. She tilted her head in the direction of the sitting area.

Lane took two quick steps to catch up. "So, which teacher do you have?" he asked politely, trying to start up a conversation. They dumped their school backpacks on the ground near a big willow tree and sat on the bench beside it.

"Mrs. Henry," she replied. "But I want to get Miss Rachel for next year."

Lane nodded in politeness, not knowing whom she was talking about. "So, do you have any brothers or sisters?"

Jasmine nodded. "I have one brother, James. He goes to a boarding school up north near Scotland." The lie came naturally to Jasmine after many years of '_Where is your brother?_' "Do you have any?"

Lane half nodded, half shook, his head. "Mummy has a baby boy in her tummy at the moment. Her and Steve say he'll be out in three months."

Jasmine didn't know who Steve was but she thought it could just be what Lane called his Dad. "Do you want a little brother?" she questioned.

He smiled and Jasmine had to look away. "Yeah. I can't wait. I'm so glad it isn't a sister. I don't want one of those."

Jasmine creased her eyebrows in thought. "Lane? Do you reckon I could share your brother with you? James is never around and I've always wanted a little brother or sister."

Lane nodded. "Of course you can share with me. He'll need a sister too, if he's going to be the bestest brother in the world."

Jasmine liked that logic. "Thank you!" she exclaimed with excitement. "I promise I'll be the best big sister to your little brother that I can!"

What he was about to say next was stopped by the bell that echoed around the school grounds. Lane gave Jasmine a quizzical look and she explained that the bell meant a teacher was coming so they could play now. She needed to hand something in to the Office for her Mum so they both stood up again and put their bags on their backs.

"So, where did you live before you moved here?"

"Oh, we lived a few hours south. We had to move because Mum didn't like it down there. Steve wasn't too happy about it and yelled a lot. But he soon gave up and let Mum choose where we were going. I like our new house, actually. It's very small inside and I have a tiny room, but there is a big paddock out the back and the forest looks like a lot of fun. Would you like to come over to my house after school? You could help me unpack all my stuff and then we could go explore outside..."

Jasmine was slightly shocked. She had never been invited over to a friend's house before. Only family and the places her mother had made her go. She wasn't sure if her Mum would let her but she agreed anyway. "Yes, please. I would like that very much."

Lane smiled at her. "Cool. My Mum will love to meet you. She never had time to meet any of my old friends before we moved. She was always busy until the baby came and she got to leave her job. Steve won't be around, though. He never gets home until late and he starts his new job today."

"Oh."

"What job do your parents have?" Lane asked.

"Mum doesn't have a job. She stays at home and helps out around the house. And Daddy, he runs a big company and he is never home either. But I don't mind. I play with Gu-" Jasmine caught herself. "I play by myself most of the time and sometimes with my cousin Genevieve."

"I don't have any cousins so I play by myself too. I guess we can always play together now, since we live so close."

Jasmine nodded. They had reached the Office now and people were starting to flood into the school gates as the School Bus emptied. She didn't start yelling across the yard like the other children. She didn't have any friends to yell to. The pair entered the cold Office and sat down by the fish bowl as they waited for the adults by the window to finish talking.

"Are there any fish in there?" Lane asked, pointing into the grimy fish enclosure.

Jasmine shook her head. "They died a long time ago and nobody can be bothered getting any new ones."

Lane looked very put-down at this and crinkled his face up. "Maybe Mum might be able to buy a new fish for the school. I think there should be one."

"You do, do you now?" a loud voice said. It was Mr. Pots. He worked at the school doing janitor work and tending to the gardens. Mr. Pots was a bulky, bald headed bloke with constant five o' clock shadow on his jaw. "I think that might be a very good idea, young man. How about I let you and Miss Potter be the official Fish Keepers here at Carabella Cove? Would you two like do to that?"

Jasmine and Lane smiled at each other and both turned to Mr. Pots beaming. "Yes, please, Mr Pots!" Jasmine said. "This is Lane Chelsea. He just moved here."

"Lovely to meet you, Mr. Chelsea." They shook hands. "Miss Jones will talk to you now, Miss Potter."

Jasmine left Lane and Mr. Pots to talk while she handed in the small, white envelope her mother had given her to the lady behind the counter. By the time she got back, Mr. Pots had gone and Lane was staring vacantly into the fish bowl.

"Come on, Lane. We can go now."

The two left the building silently into the large crowd of children crowding around a stray dog. The animal had a light brown coat and large white and black splodges on its back. The dog had a blue collar with a small, golden tag dangling off the front.

"Hunter!" Lane yelled at the dog. "What are you doing here?" The dog looked around wildly at the sound of Lane's voice and stated wiggling his tail and jumping around. The crowd parted to let Lane through. They were all staring at the new boy with interest.

"Is that your dog?" somebody asked.

Lane nodded. "Yeah, I better take him home."

Lane grabbed the dog roughly by the collar. Hunter didn't seem to realise he was in trouble and kept on trying to lick Lane's face. Lane walked the dog away in the direction of the road and the crowd slowly parted and drifted away. She briefly thought of following Lane since they were now f_riends_ – the word sent a shiver of excitement down her spine – and all.

"Oi! Donkey Face!" Jasmine turned to see a group of girls approaching her and the thought flew out of her mind. Kathy in the lead, tall and lean, closely followed by Grace, short and chubby, and Maria, freckly and stubby. They were the school bullies and were a week off graduating and leaving for high school.

"What are you crying about now, _baaaaaaaaaby_?" Kathy leered.

Jasmine held her back up straight and faced the taller girl head on. "Nothing, you big bully. Go away."

Kathy smiled evilly. "No, you spoilt brat. Gim'mie ya bag." The two other girls stood behind Jasmine, forcing her forward with a large push.

Jasmine slid her bag off her back and placed it on the floor between her legs so they couldn't grab it off her as easily. "No, Kathy. Leave me alone or I'll tell on you."

It happened so quickly that Jasmine didn't see it coming. Kathy nodded to Grace, who immediately used her own body weight to knock Jasmine to the ground. Kathy grabbed the bag and all three of them ran off laughing, the bag between them.

Jasmine lay on the ground, not moving. She had thrown her arms out to protect herself and that had left grazes on her palms and elbows. Her right knee was throbbing and she could feel sticky blood running down her leg. She sat up and stared at herself. A small section on the hem of her skirt was ripped and her shoes were scuffed.

She noticed with a stab to the heart that nobody was going to help her. Everybody was standing in their little groups, staring, pointing and whispering. There was no teacher in sight and Jasmine remembered the staff meeting that was scheduled. Her eyes were stinging with new tears and the gravel in her knee was making the pain in her leg unbearable.

"Jasmine?" a small voice asked. "Are you okay?"

"What do you think, Lane?" she snapped defensively in reaction.

He shrugged and looked around himself. "I'll help you up." He stood behind her and looped his arms under hers. He pulled up as strongly as he could and heaved her up. Lane was careful not to bump her elbow when he let go. "Wanna go to the sick bay?"

Jasmine nodded her head and wiped her tears away pathetically. Lane helped her limp over to the Office and stayed with her until one of the helping staff walked over. "Oh, Miss Potter, what's happened this time?"

"Kathy was being a bully again!" she whispered, her nose starting to run with all the crying.

"Come on; let's go fix it all up. Thank you, Mister...?"

"Chelsea."

"Mr. Chelsea. You may go to class now."

Jasmine limped over to the sick bay and waved shyly to Lane as he walked out of the door, heading towards the classrooms. The lady, Miss Cambridge, poured antiseptic over all her cuts and grazes and patched them up while Jasmine sucked on a complimentary lollypop. Miss Cambridge carefully mended her skirt and sent her back to the playground just as the school bell went. She promised to find out what happened and to deal with Kathy later.

"Feeling better?" Lane asked quietly as Jasmine waddled over. They were both standing outside Mrs. Henry's room and she guessed Lane was in her class for the rest of the week.

Jasmine nodded. She looked around awkwardly while she thought of a good way to explain the Kathy situation – it seemed he wasn't going to bring it up – and noticed her bag was sitting next to his against the wall. She met his golden-brown eyes, which were now slightly covered by his fringe, and automatically blushed.

"Thank you," she said in a small voice, "for everything."

He nodded once and they both turned for class. Lane held her bag up for her so she didn't have to bend her stiff knee and they went inside with the rest of the class just as Mrs. Henry showed up. Jasmine automatically walked to the middle of the classroom after putting her bag on the rack and sat down on the floor. Lane silently joined her and they both knew they had come to an unspoken agreement: _they would never mention it again_.

* * *

The school hours passed in a blur for Jasmine. One minute they were learning spelling words and the next, lunch had been and gone. It seemed that Lane and Jasmine could talk for hours without ever needing a break. Both the children were looking forward to that afternoon.

To Jasmine, it seemed she couldn't have wished for a better friend.

* * *

**A/N:**

Sorry for the lateness. IF anybody is still reading this (apart from you, Jen. You never leave me!), please send in a review with all your thoughts and suggestions. I would really like to know what everybody thinks.

P.S. It's RabbitohsGirl. I've just changed my name. :D


	3. Number 12

The school bell had just rung and Jasmine and Lane were running down their street as fast as Jasmine's little legs could go with all the grazes on her knee. Jasmine let Lane go on to his house – they were going to meet up again in twenty minutes – and sprinted to the front door after narrowly avoiding her new bike (which she had left on the lawn only yesterday).

"Muuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuum!" Jasmine screamed, running up the stairs. "Mum, where are you?"

Jasmine reached the landing on the stairs and Gumbo _popped_ right into view. "Miss Jasmine, welcome home, Miss. You must be quiet, Miss. Mrs Potter is ill and needs the quiet, Miss. Dr O'Malley said that I had to keep you out of the house."

"Does going to a friend's count as being out of the house?"

Gumbo looked very suspicious. "Miss, I _am_ meant to keep an eye on you..."

"Oh, _please_, Gummy!" Jasmine begged. "I would be out of your way so you could get your work done and then, if I'm still gone, you get free time! Oh, please let me go!"

Gumbo made an elfish noise and nodded his head. "Okay, Miss, but if I hear one word from you about having to do your homework tomorrow morning because you were busy this afternoon, Miss, I won't be as nice next time."

"Thank you so much!" Jasmine sighed and threw her arms around the little creature's neck. "Thank you!"

* * *

Gumbo helped Jasmine find some clothes she could play around in and wrote a note to Jasmine's father at the Ministry, letting him know where Jasmine was instead of waking her sleeping mother. By the time Jasmine was ready, dressed in a pair of old shorts and a t-shirt, Lane had already left his house and was almost at her front door.

"Bye, Gummy, I'll be home by teatime. I promise."

The little elf had barely time to say 'see you then' before Jasmine had slammed the door behind her. A big grin graced Gumbo's old face and reached his yellow eyes.

* * *

Jasmine closed the door and met Lane on the path. "Wow!" he said. "You have a really big house."

"Thank you," Jasmine said quietly – she was very aware of her wealth compared to others and felt unusually self-conscious about it. "What should we do first?"

Lane shrugged. "I dunno. Mum is making cupcakes, if you wanna help...?"

Jasmine nodded enthusiastically. "I'd love that. I don't get to help at home."

He smiled. "Okay, cool. Mum would love to meet you." Jasmine blushed. "Come on, we can help her and then we can both go down the backyard together. I haven't seen it all yet."

"Okay."

Jasmine felt nervous for the second time that day. The two approached the small house and Jasmine saw the bluish snail on the wooden, broken fence spike again. She didn't have time to inspect further because, before she knew it, they were at the front door and Lane was opening it with his right hand.

"Muuum!" he called out.

A small, blonde woman appeared in the dark hallway ahead. She had a worried look on her face. "Oh, Lane, thank goodness you are here I- oh, hello there. You must be Jasmine. I'm Amanda, Lane's Mum."

Jasmine gave her a shy smile. The woman, Amanda, walked over and carefully gave Jasmine a hug. Her pregnant belly took up more space than she had expected and squashed against Jasmines rib cage accidentally.

"It's nice to meet you, Mrs Chelsea," Jasmine said politely once Amanda had stepped back.

"Oh, honey, feel free to call me Amanda," the woman said, bustling back to the kitchen after kissing Lane on the top of the head. "Goodness knows everybody else does," she muttered.

"What were you saying before?" Lane asked, dragging Jasmine down the corridor by her arm.

Jasmine looked around the kitchen they had entered. It was a small room and the dark green tiles on the walls made it seem even smaller. The stove was cluttered with boxes of groceries and on the bench was what seemed to be the entire contents of a kitchen. The cupboard doors were open and the drawers had been pulled out of their cabinet. A bottle of cleaner and an old rag were in Amanda's hands.

"I'm just doing a bit of cleaning before I put everything away and I can't quite reach the back. Would you two be able to help before you run off to play?"

Lane silently took the rag and bottle out of his mother's hands and set to work scrubbing down the filthy surfaces. Jasmine stood awkwardly in the doorway and watched Amanda bustle about. Amanda noticed this and smiled. Jasmine was startled, noticing the woman had the same smile as Lane, only less goofy and more sophisticated. Her teeth were a shiny white and her lips were a pale pink. She wasn't wearing any makeup.

"Would you like to feed Hunter for me, Jasmine?" she asked, grabbing a plastic bowl and a tin of dog food. "He's just out the back."

Jasmine nodded and took the bowl and tin off Amanda. She walked over to the other side of the kitchen and through the sliding glass door. As she stood on the back porch, everything seemed to be calm and peaceful. The Chelsea's new backyard was _huge_. It stretched all the way down to the woods and to the left was a paddock and stable.

As her eyes roamed around the stables, she noticed a dog-shaped blur sprinting towards her. In a moment of panic, Jasmine took a step back and tripped over the frame of the sliding door, straight into Lane. They fell to the ground and within seconds, Hunter was standing over them, trying to lick their faces and get patted at the same time. Lane groaned and pushed himself off the ground.

"Hunter, back!" he yelled strongly and the dog obeyed loyally. "Sorry Jasmine, he likes meeting new people." Lane stuck a hand out and pulled her off the floor. "Bad Hunter!" he said, turning back to the large dog. "Heel."

Hunter sat down. He whacked his tail against the wooden floorboards impatiently as Lane helped Jasmine open the tin. It made a thwumping sound. She carefully dumped all the food into the bowl and stood back as Hunter pounced on his meal. Jasmine couldn't hold back a giggle as Hunter used his snout to eat and pull his bowl backwards at the same time so he was in patting distance.

"He likes you," Lane smiled quietly.

Jasmine blushed and looked away so she wasn't caught staring at his smile which was so much more like his mother's than she had initially recalled. She reached out and stroked Hunter's coat. The fur on his white spots was softer an that on the black ones.

"Want to go explore? Mum isn't quite ready for cooking yet. She's still cleaning."

Jasmine beamed as excitement flushed through her. "Yeah! Let's go look at the stables."

Lane stepped back and surveyed her. "Are you sure? You aren't going to chicken out on me, are you?"

Jasmine didn't know what there was to be scared of, and she tried not to think about it. "Of course not. Are you?"

He smirked. "Race you there!"

* * *

It was growing dark, but the children weren't quite ready to give up. They had been playing around the stables for hours and still hadn't finished exploring the whole enclosure. There was enough room for up to four horses (two, if they were to have lots of room) and a storeroom for saddles and maintenance equipment. Lane and Jasmine found three brushes and half a broom lying around on the floor and the ground was littered with decaying straw.

They had also come across empty bottles and a lighter with a few dozen cigarette butts, left from teenage shenanigans over the years. Lane guessed nobody had entered the stables for one or two years. The ceiling inside was high and there were half a dozen heavy rafters which the kids could reach by climbing on latticed wall on the far side. The lights had ran out of spark and blown many years ago, but the electricity was still okay and Lane had made a mental note to ask his Mum for new lights to put in.

Amanda had waddled down about two hours ago and had made the official decision that the children could use the stables as a playhouse and that they could ask for whatever they needed to make it homier. She'd given them each a blue-iced cupcake (Amanda hadn't wanted them to stop playing so she cooked them herself) and told them to come back into the house soon, Jasmine's mother would be worrying about her.

Lane had helped Jasmine conquer her fear of fights and they were both sitting lazily on the largest rafter in the middle of the stables where they could see everything. Dark shadows were forming on the walls, making it very hard for them to see what they were doing. A chill ran down Jasmines spine, making her remember her promise to Gumbo.

"I better go," Jasmine said regretfully. "I promised I'd be home by dinner time."

Lane's face crumpled. "Yeah, alright." He let go of the rafter and dropped down into the second stable. It was a big drop and he had to roll when he landed. "Let go, Jazzy, I'll catch you."

Jasmine took a deep breath and, without a second thought, threw herself of the beam and into Lane. True to his word, he did catch her and for the second time that afternoon they fell to the ground.

By the time they had walked back to the house, the sun had set and twilight was upon them. Jasmine rushed herself home after a hurried goodbye to Amanda, Lane and Hunter. Gumbo met her at the door, and he wasn't looking too happy.

"Where have you been, Miss?" he asked emotionlessly.

Jasmine swallowed. "Playing, Gummy."

Gumbo shook his head. "Get upstairs and into your bath, Miss, your mother's been worrying her head off. It's past sunset, Miss. Tea will be served in fifteen minutes, Miss."

* * *

As Jasmine sat in the hot bath Gumbo had ran for her, peeling off the bandaids on her knee – which she had forgotten about in the fun that her and Lane were having – she thought about her whole day and her new friendship with the boy from number 12. He'd helped her get her bag off Kathy, he'd spent all day with her when she normally sat by herself, Lane had invited her over and they'd even spent all afternoon in the stables playing together.

"Miss Jasmine, you'd better get clean quickly, you are covered in mud, Miss, and dinner is almost ready."

She turned to face the little tanned elf and her face softened. "Ok, Gummy, and I'm sorry I didn't come home when I was meant to, but Lane and I were making plans for the stables and-"

"Don't worry, Miss," Gumbo interrupted. "Just clean yourself up and come down to dinner. Your father has some important guests visiting tonight and the last thing your mother needs is a misbehaving child on her hands. Hop to it."

Jasmine watched Gumbo leave out of the corner of her eye, pretending to clean herself down in case he was watching. She waited for the sound of the door shutting behind him, but it never came. She looked up to find James in the doorway.

"Hey, Jazzy..." he greeted carefully. Jasmine noticed he stayed near the doorway, out of throwing distance. "How was school?"

Jasmine looked back to her knee sulkily. She didn't answer him. James slowly walked over and sat by the bathtub. She didn't look up meet her brother's eye, but even if she had, he would have looked away. Jasmine prodded her knee carefully and slowly sunk it into the bath water. It stung and her eyes started to water.

"I'm sorry, Jazzy. But Mum is really not well and she needed me at home. How about I walk you to school tomorrow morning instead?"

She looked up at her brother and took in every inch of his handsome face before saying anything. "I made a new friend today," she claimed, splashing the surface of the bath with her hands. The sound echoed quietly around the room.

"That's great, Jazzy. What's she like?"

"_He_ just moved into number 12. His name is Lane Chelsea."

James smiled widely. "I thought I saw somebody outside that house this morning. How about you tell me all about him after dinner? You should be out of the bath by now."

She nodded and quickly wet her hair with a splash of water to make it look like she had really washed it. James left her in the bathroom to dry herself down and get dressed – he said he would meet her at the table. Jasmine rushed around, getting ready as fast as she could, and then ran downstairs to the kitchen.

* * *

**A/N:**

I didn't realise I hadn't posted it. I thought I had about two months ago. Whoops...

Apologies.

This is for Jen.

P.S. On hiatus from this point forward. Read profile.


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